Wednesday 24 April 2013 04.57 EDT
First published on Wednesday 24 April 2013 04.57 EDT

A world-class civil service is critical for delivering world-class public services and efficient, effective government. It forms the bedrock of our democracy: making government work, turning policy into reality and changing people's lives.

While the civil service is under severe pressure, it isn't broken. Neither is it perfect. The FDA union isn't resistant to change, but we think an approach based on learning from experience and continuous improvement – rather than a stark choice between radical reform and no reform at all – is the way to achieve that. This is the approach we advocate in our alternative white paper, Delivering for the Nation: Securing a World-Class Civil Service.

All too often, the debate about modernising the civil service is framed within negative headlines. There have been suggestions of obstructionism, and a considerable part of the recent parliamentary debate has focused on the accountability of the most senior officials.

Meanwhile, in the real world, the civil service is made up of dedicated and highly skilled public servants committed to delivering for the nation. Across the UK, civil servants are operating in an exceptionally challenging environment of diminishing resources, radical change, and pay levels that have fallen dramatically behind the market.

Civil servants are not faceless bureaucrats, but real people striving every day to serve the government and the public. They include those who stop tax evasion, prosecute criminals, improve the performance of schools, represent our national interests abroad and protect our borders. These are just a few of the key public service roles the FDA represents.

The FDA is keen to ensure there is a longer term, more strategic debate about reform of the civil service; one that is built on a shared analysis of the challenges it faces and which looks at building political consensus.

By 2015, matching resources to workload will be profoundly challenging. The civil service must have the skills it needs for a changing environment and expectations, but there must also be clarity on what it is expected of it.

Our alternative white paper proposals advocate a considered evolutionary approach based on three core principles, which we hope can secure support across all political parties:

• The starting point for reform must be a proper appraisal of challenges, the skills that are required and the resources required to deliver policy commitments

• We must learn from experience and expertise, and build on the many examples of success rather than focus on occasional failures

• The process of reform can only succeed if there is respect on both sides: respect from civil servants for the extremely difficult and changing role of ministers, and respect from politicians for civil servants' unique and complex role in policy development and implementation

Our paper sets out 20 recommendations over three broad themes: equipping the civil service to deliver in the modern context; getting accountability and impartiality right; and how to improve morale and motivation.

We also make recommendations on improving the skills of minsters as well as civil servants, on better ways to hold the government and civil servants to account, and on improving the morale and performance of senior public servants.

The white paper is only the first step in our campaign. The FDA will continue to present evidence and recommendations to inform and influence the debate on how a world-class civil service can be secured and, critically, to ensure that reform is influenced by those whose commitment and professionalism deliver the services on which the public relies.

Dave Penman is general secretary of the FDA union

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